Delaware County coaches to face off in NCAAs

Larry Davis and Matt Painter never played against each other in the Delaware County Tournament. Davis played basketball at Wapahani and Painter played at Delta, but their 15-year age difference meant they never could have met on that stage.

On Thursday, they will face off in a much bigger venue.

Painter, a 1989 Delta graduate, will coach his Purdue men's basketball team against Davis' Cincinnati squad in an NCAA Tournament game in Louisville, Kentucky. Davis is a 1974 graduate of Wapahani.

"Delaware County has always produced great basketball and Coach Davis has done a great job with his squad this season," Painter said in an e-mailed statement. "Delaware County is a blue-collar area and I think you see that in how hard his team plays. It's pretty unique to have a matchup like that in the NCAA Tournament with two coaches from the same area and I, and I'm sure Larry did too, learned a lot about the game growing up in that area."

Painter is in his 10th season as Purdue's head coach. He is making his seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament as the Boilermakers' coach, but the first since 2012.

"I'm thrilled for Matt and just how hard he's worked," said Stan Daugherty, who coached Painter at Delta. "I think he's really shown just, maybe, how a true professional he is in the last couple years of really trying to evaluate where his program was and the changes he needed to make to get back to being successful. And then to implement those changes, I think he's just done an outstanding job."

Davis is the associate head coach at Cincinnati, but has served as head coach for much of the season as Mick Cronin deals with health concerns. Davis remains in that capacity for the NCAA Tournament. Cincinnati is making its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and Davis has been on the staff for the previous four as Cronin led the charge.

Wapahani baseball coach Brian Dudley is a 1976 Wapahani graduate and went to school with Davis. He remembers playing wiffleball with Davis as a child, and taking advantage of the lighted basketball court at Davis' house. Dudley has made a point to catch some of the Bearcats' games since Davis took over this season.

"It seemed to me like they had not missed a beat," Dudley said. "He's taken over and hasn't been hesitant about doing what you need to do."

Lanny Parker was in his first season as Wapahani's coach when Davis was a senior. More than 40 years later, it's Davis' work ethic that stands out as he thinks back on their year together. No matter if it was a practice or a game, Davis always seemed to work hard. Parker remembers Davis once saying he wanted to be a coach, a statement that still rings true decades later. Davis' career has included head-coaching stints at Furman and famous prep school Oak Hill Academy and assistant-coaching jobs at Ball State and Minnesota, among other stops.

"It's been enjoyable watching," Parker said. "It's always great to see any former student, whether they're a basketball player or any former student that you had, to see them when they've been successful. I have good memories of him, he was really diligent about always wanting to do things right."

While the game between Davis and Painter will likely attract interest from those who know the pair of coaches and others with ties to Delaware County basketball, Dudley is confident the geographical connection won't be on the coaches' minds once the ball tips off at KFC Yum! Center at 7:10 p.m..

"Once that game starts, they're both long-removed from their roots at this point in time," Dudley said. "And they'll both be engaged into coaching their teams and trying to survive and move on."